Oaths and Grudges: Beneath the Skin
by SpartAl412
Summary: While traveling further into the Empire, a Dwarf Engineer teams up with a Kislevite sellsword for a mercenary contract to slay some unnatural creatures.


Hans Fiedler raised his hands near the warm fire in front of him. The simple vagabond quietly thanked Ranald for the delicious aroma of the boar roasting upon the fire, as well as having a fine bottle of hooch to keep his belly warm. He was also especially thankful for the company he was with; one was a pretty dwarf girl with nice green eyes and auburn hair of whom was tending the fire. The second was a foreigner from Kislev, a woman with eyes of purple-black and ash blond hair which was tied into a bun with two plaited locks of hair on the sides. The latter one he had found to be attractive as well in a rough hoyden-ish sort of way, especially considering the scars on her face.

He had quickly noted the way both the ladies were dressed, the dwarf wore a suit of chain mail armor of dwarf-make and a stone grey cloak. The Kislevite woman on the other hand wore a dark brown leather long coat and a fancy hat which made her look like a highwayman. He noted that when the Kislevite moved, he heard the jingling of chains, likely she had been wearing chain mail underneath.

He especially did not forget to notice that the two were heavily armed with the dwarf carrying a sword, a strange metal cudgel and a rifle. He had also noted on the dwarf's mule there was a strange crossbow of a design he had never seen. The kislevite woman carried with her a two-handed axe, a rifle and more which were placed in satchels on her horse. Hans himself carried a simple woodcutter's hatchet and a walking staff, hardly the best but it was better than nothing.

The dwarf girl whose name he had learned was Vanyra Skorrisdottir began using her sword to saw away the boar's right hind leg. She then called to the vagabond who gratefully took the leg and went back to where he was sitting, he bit into its cooked flesh and he moaned in pleasure at its succulent taste. Looking to his companions he saw the dwarf cut out another leg and handed it to the Kislevite who thanked the dwarf in a thickly accented Reikspiel. The dwarf then cut out a third leg and bit into it, the three travelers ate in silence.

'So...' said Hans hoping to try his luck tonight and trying to sound as charming as he could 'what bring two fine ladies like yerselfs out on the road like this?'

Swallowing a mouthful of boar, Vanyra replied first 'I am heading to Altdorf, manling'. Hans nodded politely then looked at the foreign woman whose name he had learned was Sashura Kostina

'How about ye fair lass? Heading to Altdorf as well?' he asked

'Da, I go to Altdorf also' nodded the foreigner 'look for work'.

'I meself am headin off to Averheim now, just fancy havin a looksie' Hans said with a smile. 'Altdorfs quite far aways I reckon, nice place where ya see all kinds a fancy stuff. I once even saw elves there.'

The dwarf woman grunted at the mention of the elves. Hans never understood why the elder folk didn't seem to get along, he had seen the stuff they sold in Marienburg and Altdorf, and both races seemed capable of greater feats of craftsmanship than men did. He had once even seen elven and dwarf soldiers fighting alongside the Imperial army and he saw just how mighty they could be. He remembered a story about a war both races fought against each other, he wondered if that was it.

'A nice place to-' said Hans before he was interrupted by the sudden whinnying of the Kislevite woman's horse and the dwarf's mule and the alert expressions which came upon his companions. Fear began to creep into Hans as he began to think of greenskins, beastmen, mutants or the undead walking about. He saw the two ladies get up, the Kislevite one brought up her gun and the dwarf brought up hers as well. The two watched and heard the sounds of the forest, he could hear one of them sniffing the air, he too looked around but his eyes were wide with alarm.

'Get down! manling!' the dwarf shouted and she swung the barrel of her rifle towards him. Hans's eyes widened in shock and he dropped down with his hands covering his head, he heard the loud discharge of the dwarf's gun which echoed across the forest. He then heard a loud, monstrous, blood curdling roar from nearby; he heard the sound of something large rustling in the brush behind him. He looked back to see movement in the foliage, it was very close to their camp and whatever it was, it was going away from them.

Looking back to the dwarf and the Kislevite, he saw the foreign woman moving in his direction while the dwarf began reloading her weapon. With eyes still widened he looked to the Kislevite woman, who passed, she began moving towards the brush with her rifle hand.

'w-w-what are ye doing?' stuttered Hans, the Kislevite woman shushed him and she went into the brush. He then looked to the dwarf who was moving with surprising silence; the dwarf ignored him as she too went into the brush and leaving Hans alone in the camp. The only thing he could hear now was the crackling of the fire pit and the breathing of the horse and the mule as they looked about around them.

Terror began to grip him further, he wanted to run, but if there were monsters out there then the two women might be his safest bet. He looked to the horse and thought maybe he could steal it and ride off.

That plan began to sound good to him until he heard another rustle in the brush behind him. And he looked in terror, what if the two ladies were dead and it was only him. Fumbling for his hatchet, he held it protectively like a child holding a doll. He clenched his bowels as much as he could, he swore to Sigmar that if he survives this night he is going to settle down in his next stop and get a regular job.

'Put that down before you hurt yourself manling' came the stern voice of the dwarf, relief began to flood into Hans as he felt his heart still pounding like a drum. The Kislevite woman soon came out from the brush as well without any harm.

'What was that?' asked the vagabond rather fearfully.

'I don't know manling' replied the dwarf grimly 'I caught the smell of a wolf and blood, lots of it too. Also saw the tracks as well, too big to be an ordinary wolf, the blood smelled wrong as well' the dwarf then went back to where she had sat and set her rifle upon her lap before picking up the unfinished leg of boar again.

Hans then looked to the kislevite woman who did quite the same; she eyed the forest warily and spoke 'I take first watch tonight'

'I will take the second watch then' added the dwarf. With that the party rested in silence, wary of what lay in the dark, Hans himself prayed to Sigmar and all the gods. He found that throughout the entire night, sleep never fully came to him as his mind played tricks with visions of monsters and daemons.

* * *

Vanyra Skorridottir looked up with a mix of relief as they neared the walled human settlement. An early morning mist had already cast a blanket over the land, and the sun itself was covered by the clouds and fog. For days now she had been on the road heading to Altdorf, it was during the late afternoon of yesterday when she had met the Kislevite woman named Sashura on the road. The Kislevite seemed an all right sort for a human.

Both were heading to Altdorf so why not travel together for a while? The forests of the Empire are supposed to be full of _gors_, _grobbi_ and who knows what else, so it seemed like a good idea. The previous night they had met the human wanderer named Hans Fiedler who certainly seemed like the cowardly sort, the man was eager to join their company after the previous night. As the three along with Vanyra's mule _Got_, and Sashura's horse neared the gate, they heard the sudden voice of a man call out

'Halt right there!' shouted a man and Vanyra saw several human men began appearing upon the wooden palisades, many were soon pointing bows, rifles and crossbows at all three of them.

'What craziness this!?' shouted Sashura back at them. A man wearing the uniform of a state trooper came to the wall, at a closer look Vanyra could see that he was a middle-aged looking man with a puffy hat which bore a feather.

'By order of Witch Hunter Wagner of the Templars of Sigmar, anyone who wants to enter Schlaussen needs to be tested for any taint of the beast!' The man shouted back at them.

Witch Hunters, grimly thought Vanyra. While she has never met any of the fanatics, she has heard many stories from her brother, father and many other dwarfs about these zealous holy men. Often these tales were about the foolishness of _umgi_ to give such madmen authority. How they would burn down entire towns and villages just to catch one witch or stir up panics and cause people to begin turning on each other.

One particular story she remembered her father telling her was how he once stayed at an inn of a human town while hunting _grobi_. The innkeeper was a nice man with a wife and two kids, and he even had special rooms with dwarf sized furniture. Her father went out and returned three days later, only to find half a quarter of the populace hanged by angry mobs and state troops, said innkeeper and his family were among the hanged.

'Mayhaps we should go elsewhere' suggested Hans a bit fearfully.

Before Vanyra could reply, she heard another man's voice from the other side, one which was deeper and carried with it a great deal of authority. The other man asked who was outside the gate; the Imperial turned around and looked down to inform whoever he was talking to about the travelers. She then heard the second voice order for the gate to be opened and after a few seconds the double door gates were pushed open to reveal a tall older human male clad in a dark leather long coat, he wore a lacquered breastplate which was decorated with scrolls which were pinned by red wax seals and she saw the man's icon of the twin tailed comet upon his pointed hat and she knew that he was a Witch Hunter.

'Oh sweet Sigmar…' muttered Hans fearfully. Vanyra glanced at the vagabond who looked almost ready to soil his britches.

While the Witch Hunter certainly looked fearsome and dangerous, she was not very impressed for she had often frequented a tavern back in _Karaz-a-Karak_ which was a favored haunt among Slayers and monster hunters. Vanyra had also noted that the Kislevite, Sashura also did not seem very impressed or afraid of the Witch Hunter. As the Templar of Sigmar walked towards them, Vanyra also noted the mace and five-barreled pistol which hung from the Witch Hunter's side, each were of a clear dwarf craftsmanship.

The Witch Hunter stopped in front of the three, and barely four feet away. She looked up to the human's face to see a grizzled looking man with a once blonde but now graying handlebar moustache, she saw his face had many scars and his left eye was covered by an eye patch which depicted a golden hammer. The man's right eye studied the three of them intently, she noted that he only gave her a brief glance and then proceeded to focus on Sashura and Hans.

'I am Templar Josef Wagner' the man introduced himself, he then commanded them authoritatively as if they were common soldiers 'submit now to a purity test or be shot where you stand!' Looking up to the humans on the palisades who pointed their weapons at the three Vanyra could only think, oh _krut_.

'Fine! Do test!' Sashura said defiantly to the Witch Hunter whose one good eye narrowed as he grimly looked at the woman, the two eyed each other for a moment before the Witch Hunter removed a small medallion of a silver hammer from one of his pockets. The Witch Hunter then pressed it onto the surface of Sashura's left cheek; he left it there for a moment before going up to Hans who blanched at the proximity of the Witch Hunter.

The Witch Hunter did the same to Hans who closed his eyes and began muttering a prayer to Sigmar. The Witch Hunter then gave Hans a disgusted look before going to Vanyra. The dwarf woman looked up and received the silver hammer for only a brief moment before the Witch Hunter retracted his medallion; she noted the Witch Hunter's expression on her was less severe though.

'None of you bear the taint' the Witch Hunter then said 'you may all enter Schlaussen'

* * *

'Well looks like you all got a nice welcome' said the hirsute and burly Innkeeper in a sarcastic tone as Vanyra, Sashura and Hans sat by the bar. The three travelers had made their way to the town's inn where they stabled their animals and decided to buy some food and drink. The taproom was spacious and decorated with wolf furs, there were also several tables and chairs and the establishment was pretty empty save for the Innkeeper and his three guests. Nothing unusual really since it was too early in the day by human standards to start drinking.

The Innkeeper, who had already been paid in advance, set down three steins of ale and the three travelers began drinking quite eagerly. While Hans and Sashura seemed to enjoy it, Vanyra found it to be weak and flat, typical of human made brews.

'Damn Sigmarite bastards struttin in and thinking they own the place' muttered the Innkeeper. Vanyra noted that the man wore an amulet of a wolf and guessed him to be a devout follower of the human god Ulric. She had read about but never understood why humans often bickered about religious matters; she supposed it had something to do with their short lives.

'Da!' nodded Sashura as she finished gulping down a drink 'what happening hey?'

'Well its like this' said the innkeeper while crossing his arms 'about two weeks ago some noble dandies from Averheim got themselves lost and was later found all ripped to shreds and eaten by some wild animals east of here. Then last week some other group of travelin nobles from Stirland passed by here and acting like they owned the place. Those fellows got themselves killed east of here too, only one poor bugger made it here and began babbling about wolves that walked on two legs. Probably some other folks and travelers too, but it ain't that strange on these parts of the roads when you're not careful'

At the Innkeeper's words, Vanyra noted that was the direction where they were almost attacked the previous night. Her Kislevite companion, of whom was still in conversation with the innkeeper gestured for the man to continue.

'Father Hubert, our local priest of Ulric' added the innkeeper, 'says it was Beastmen who done it, but Father Markus of the Sigmarites says it was done by the Children' Vanyra noted the last word was said a bit warily, there was something about it which seemed familiar.

'Ain't those Children supposed be just stories?' asked Hans as he took another drink

'The Children are real I can tell you that' insisted the Innkeeper

'Excuse but what Children?' Sashura asked curiously

'Lycanthropes and Skin-Changers' answered Hans 'Werewolves I hear em also called'

Vanyra recalled from "My Travels with Gotrek: Volume I, by Felix Jaeger" that the two adventurers had encountered such creatures before. She remembered the book saying that Children of Ulric were supposed to descendants of the Wolf God when he mated with human women, and that all of the creatures were later corrupted by Chaos.

'Between us though' the Innkeeper said in a conspiratorial tone while raising his right hand so his fingers would cover the movement of his lip 'I think it's really just some overgrown wolves them goblins ride on and that old Father Markus brought in the Witch Hunter to scare the lot of us into focusing our prayers to Sigmar for deliverance'

Hans gave the innkeeper a stunned looked and quickly asked 'Arent ya worried that Witch Hunter is gonna hear ya? They got eyes and ears in all sorts a places.'

'Bah! Let em! Scoffed the innkeeper 'Our town's guardian is Sir Eckhart, a Knight of the White Wolf he is' the innkeeper mentioned the Knight's name quite proudly. 'He and Father Hubert have gone out and killed all sorts of beastmen, greenskins and mutants here about; we don't need no Witch Hunter around here to protect us'

'Anyways' continued the innkeeper 'The mayor has put up a bounty to whoever can catch and kill whatever killed them nobles gets a reward of twelve Karls'. The mention of a reward in gold quickly caught the attention of both Vanyra and Sashura, Hans of course was content to just listen and fantasize about having the money.

'So who do we see about this bounty then, manling' asked Vanyra eagerly

The innkeeper then pointed his left hand over his shoulder and said 'Talk to Captain Steiner at the militia barracks, its two blocks away from here…'

* * *

'So, split gold da?' asked Sashura. Vanyra nodded and the two women shook on it and agreed to work together. While Vanyra honestly did not know much about the Kislevite, the two of them worked together the previous night in getting that boar and the dwarf was impressed enough in the Kislevite's skill in tracking and marksmanship. The two of them had already talked to the militia captain and were now officially hired swords (or guns) for the Imperial province of Averland.

The two of them spent the day stocking up on some extra supplies and ammunition. Vanyra herself had decided to use her repeater crossbow for this hunt, from her experience, using rapid fire weapons were better against speedier opponents if there was a lot of cover to be used. She wondered if she should also bring some of her explosives and decided to bring three new explosive bombs which contained alchemical combustible mixtures. These new fire bombs she developed were placed in small cylindrical containers which simply needed a flick of the thumb under the flat pin on the side.

As the sun began to set and the townsfolk of Schlaussen began make their way home, the two women saw two large groups of Imperials begin to form up. One group was led by Witch Hunter Wagner and the Priest of Sigmar, Father Markus, a bald-headed but strongly built man who wore a mix of red robes and armor while the man carried a large hammer over his left shoulder. They were accompanied by a group of crazed looking fanatics armed with a motley array of gear; some wore red robes like the priest and were armed with hammers, maces or cudgels.

Others were garbed in filthy rags and carrying flails and whips which they used to harm themselves, Vanyra was disturbed to remember that these mad ones were the flagellant of the Empire. Many of the Sigmarites were chanting "Purge the Beast!" They also had quite a number of large hunting dogs with them who barked and howled in equal rowdiness as they strained against their leashes.

On the other hand there was the Wolf Knight, Sir Eckhart who was clad in a well used but still serviceable suit of plate armor, his back was covered by the pelt of a brown furred wolf which matched with his own impressive beard and mane. Next to him was the Ulrican Priest who wore a suite of well polished chain mail and a white fur cloak, she noted that both men carried hammers. Around the two Ulricans were several hunting dogs and fierce-looking armored men equipped with hammers, axes and spears. All of them wore garments or furs along with their armor and they were just as rowdy as the Sigmarites.

When the gates opened the two groups of men roared praises to the Empire's gods of war, they marched forwards trying to outdo each other in getting outside the gates first and it became confusing to the dwarf woman which ones did make it first. It was almost like watching a group of greenskins on the warpath.

'Ready _Vebla_?' asked Sashura with good humor as she looked down, the Kislevite was armed with her rifle and an axe she had called a _berdysh_, she also carried a sword by her hip which the Kislevite called a _shashka_.

'Aye, ready manling' nodded Vanyra who loaded a fresh magazine into her crossbow and she heard the satisfying click, signifying the weapon was ready to start shooting, she had made a further modification for her crossbow to be capable of carrying a blade under the bolt. Fixing an Imperial hunting dagger made with dwarf steel underneath it, she nodded to the Kislevite. The two of them advanced on foot outside the gates and into the darkness of the forest.

* * *

Three hours after they had left, the two found their previous campsite. Using the long extinguished fire pit as a guide, the two of them made their way to where they had found the blood. Already the blood had dried and stained the grassy earth and the plants, despite it being dark, Vanyra used her inborn night vision and keen dwarf sense to follow the tracks. The Kislevite woman held her rifle at the ready and she moved with a quiet confidence as she watched the dwarf's back.

Following the tracks, an image of what happened came into Vanyra's mind. The beast was first shot by the dwarf's rifle, it collapsed but recovered and bounded off, it went northwest from their camp as it continued to bleed, but after a few minutes it looked as if the blood trail had disappeared. Following its paw prints, she heard the barking of several hounds and the shouts of men, judging by the lack of "Purge the Beast" or "Sigmar!", she quickly assumed it was the Ulrican party.

Looking to the direction of the men, they saw several blood hounds burst out from the brush, they were barking at the two and for a moment Vanyra just wanted to shoot the dogs. The hounds of course continued to bark but not attack the two, from the brush soon came the wolf pelted men led by the knight and the priest.

'Well what's this here?' asked the knight in a deep and commanding tone, much like that of the Witch Hunter 'two ladies out in the woods'. At a closer look, Vanyra could see his impressive braided beard which would rival that of a dwarf, she noted his plate armor did not extend over the sections between his shoulders (which were covered by an impressively sized pair of wolf headed pauldrons) and his elbows, thus revealing muscled flesh.

'We are here hunting the beast manling' Vanyra spoke up 'I shot it last night, and your hounds are ruining the trail' she added. A number of the humans began muttering to each other but were soon silenced by the knight.

'The two of you should head back to Schlaussen' the knight said 'a dangerous place like this is no place for women'

'Fool imperial!' snorted Sashura 'you try live in North Oblast of Kislev with _kyazaks_ and monsters! Everyone learn fight, even children!' The knight gave Sashura a hard look; he clearly was not someone who was used to being questioned. The Kislevite woman of course did not back down and Vanyra was beginning to question her choice of partnership.

'Perhaps north in Kislev where people are more barbarous' the knight said calmly, but his tone was clear that he was not backing done 'But here in-' the knight said before a loud bestial howl echoed through the woods. Vanyra and the humans quickly began scanning the forest with their weapons readied while their hounds began barking uncontrollably. The hounds of the Sigmarite party began to howl and they were soon followed by the cracks of gunfire.

Quickly dropping the debate, the Ulricans quickly began sprinting to the location of the Sigmarite party; both the dwarf and the Kislevite were not far behind them. They made their way through the thorn and briar of the forest, they heard more bestial roars which were soon mixed with the screams, shouts and war cries of men and the barking of their hounds. Already, Vanyra picked up the scent of blood and she heard two more cracks of firearms being discharged.

The hunting parties arrived to a charnel scene where the bloody and ripped bodies of men, hounds and the bodies of some monstrous hybrids between men and wolves lay amongst the dead. Amidst the scene of the slaughter, the Witch Hunter and the Sigmarite priest, along with six other men, out of eighteen Vanyra noted. The surviving Sigmarites were bleeding heavily from scratches and bites their weapons dripped with blood.

The Sigmarite Priest of whom bled heavily from a gash upon his brow gave an angry and hateful look the Ulricans and shouted 'You see! I told you Hubert! The beasts are the spawn of your heathen god!' The priest's words angered the Ulricans who began taking menacing steps, the Witch Hunter quickly leveled his pistol at the Ulricans, Vanyra could see in the man's eyes that he was really willing to pull the trigger if the Ulrican's take another step.

'All of you manlings calm down!' shouted Vanyra and all eyes were soon upon her, a little surprised that it actually worked, the dwarf cleared her throat and tried to defuse the situation. 'We have to work together if we are to kill these things!' The two parties of Imperials glared at each other and they lowered their weapons.

'What happened here?' the knight asked as he surveyed area with only the lights of their torches to illuminate the forest.

'We were attacked by these… abominations' said the Witch Hunter rather coldly as he pointed the head of his bloody mace towards one of the dead wolf-things which had its skull caved in.

'Those are not the Children!' the Ulrican priest said 'they are monsters which make mockeries of them! The true Children shift between the forms of men and wolf, not some blasphemous hybrid!'

'So you admit these abominations belong to your god!' accused the Sigmarite Priest. Again the Imperials looked about ready to tear each other apart.

Hearing a frustrated growl from Sashura, Vanyra looked to her companion who raised her rifle up and fired a shot which rang across the forest. The Imperials looked to her and she shouted at them as she began to reload 'Kill each other in town if like eh!? Not in damn woods!'

The Imperials parties looked at each other; clearly this would not be over. As the Imperials barely calmed down they began inspecting the bodies of the wolf-things. The creatures were rangy and certainly wolf-like with hellish looking eyes; black fur and each were covered in blood and bits of flesh, likely from the men who were just killed. There were a total of seven of the vile things which lay around amongst the dead.

'There were four others which got away' the Witch Hunter said angrily 'they were faster and stronger than ghouls, I have never fought anything like those… creatures.' One of the Ulrican hounds began barking at the hunters and it began pointing to the north and the Imperials grudgingly agreed to hold off their squabble for the time being and the now combined parties traveled off further into the forest

* * *

'I not like this' whispered Sashura as her eyes scanned the forest warily, Vanyra could feel it too, it was as if they were being watched, stalked even. The now combined hunting party traveled in a semblance of a circular formation with the two adventurers at the front near the east section. The hounds sniffed the ground for the smell of the wolf things; already it had been more than an hour since the Sigmarite party had been slaughtered.

Already the remaining members of the Sigmarite party had done their best to patch themselves up with whatever bandages and healing unguents they had. Although the two Imperial parties had agreed to put aside their feud, Vanyra noted the hostile looks they often gave each other, especially among the two priests. She hoped that before the night was out, both groups did not end up killing each other.

It was not long until one of the hounds began acting up and it began barking. The other hounds howled and barked in unison and the party allowed the beasts to lead them. As the group traveled further and began to pick up the pace, they heard the howls of wolves in the distance, with the hairs on the back of her neck rising, Vanyra quickly brought up her crossbow.

The humans around her began to move more cautiously, she could feel her heart beat louder and cold sweat begin to appear on her brow. She picked up that awful, unnatural smell again which was sickly sweet to her nose. Her eyes noted the rustling among the brush, raised up so she could see down the scope, just a little more she thought, already the hounds began barking more wildly and the men quickly released them.

The hounds quickly dashed off to the left and right of the group, they barked and yapped as they disappeared into the brush. The barkings were soon replaced by bestial roars which were followed by the pathetic whining noises the dogs made. Soon they heard a horrible smacking and snarling, the lycanthropes were likely feeding. The lycanthropes howled and already, Vanyra could hear them coming.

Bursting out of the brush in an explosion of leaves, four of the werewolves was running towards them on all fours, its mouth slavered with a mix of blood and drool. By Grimnir! Thought Vanyra, they were fast! Resisting the urge to freeze up, the dwarf took aim at one and she squeezed the trigger of her crossbow. With a click, her crossbow fired a bolt and was soon followed by another as she squeezed it again, the bolts flew towards the beasts in rapid succession and she succeeded in hitting one of the beasts with three bolts.

Sashura's rifle belched with smoke and fire, it launched a bullet which struck the one Vanyra had been shooting at and the beast fell to the ground. They heard screams from the men on the west side of the group and the smell of blood began to mix in with the animal stink of the lycanthropes. On the west side, two of the beasts crashed into the men near the two while another bounded towards Sashura who had already dropped her rifle and she pulled out her _berdysh_.

'Ursun!' the Kislevite woman shouted as she ran towards the werewolf that was charging towards her. Vanyra tried to get a bead on the creature and she fired a trio of bolts with only one hitting the beast in its left shoulder. As the beast leapt with its long arms which ended in claws as long as short sword and raised forwards, the Kislevite swiftly thrust the tip of her pole-axe into the werewolf's slavering maw, its momentum pushed it further in and allowing more of the blade to dig into its skull.

The beast then impacted against Sashura, knocking her to the ground and knocking down one of the Imperials. Not having time to check on her companion, Vanyra felt blood spatter all over her face as a claw punched through the chest of one of the last Sigmarites who was just beside the dwarf a mere three feet away. The man's throat was quickly torn out by the werewolf which bit into him and showering the engineer with more blood, it then gave the dwarf a hungry growl as its jaws dripped with blood and saliva, its white glowing seemed to pierce into her very soul.

Swiftly bringing up her repeater crossbow to bear, she began unloading the rest of her magazine into the beast. Thanks to a few more modifications she had made to increase its ammo capacity, she fired six more bolts into the beast's torso. The werewolf staggered back at the volley of steel tipped dwarf bolts which could pierce through the armor and hides of a black orc and she began to pin cushion it.

Not having time to reload or draw out her sword, she charged the beast with her crossbow and she stabbed it in the chest with the hunting dagger mounted beneath it. The beast roared in further agony as it was stabbed another time, it back-handed Vanyra who was struck in the face, and she felt bones of her nose break and pain quickly shot through her face. Staggering back she glared angrily at the beast which to her horror was regenerating its wounds.

The beast swiftly thrust its right arm at her and she was forced to roll to her right to avoid its claws. Rolling upon the grass ground, she swiftly reached for one of her incendiary explosives, pulling it up and flicking the pin with her thumb, she hurled it at the werewolf as it already was running towards her. The explosive device struck the beast in its forehead and it bounced off before exploding in a cloud of fire.

The beast roared in pain as the fires burned its fur, it tried to uselessly beat against it and it only succeeded in setting its claws aflame. Quickly reaching for another magazine by her belt, she reloaded her crossbow and began to fire another volley of bolts towards the beast. Again the beast was staggered back by the second volley of bolts but this time it fell upon its knees with its hideous face now planted upon the earth. It lay there unmoving as the alchemical fires consumed it. Quickly placing her right hand over her nose while her left held her crossbow, she painfully reset her nose in its proper place with a hiss and went back into the ongoing fight.

Reloading another magazine into her crossbow, Vanyra began to carefully fire more bolts into another of the werewolves. The beasts were as the Witch Hunter said they were, fast and strong and worse, they regenerated the wounds inflicted upon them, she noted that like trolls, they were killed when they were hit enough times (which was a lot though). Hearing the bark of fire from Sashura's rifle she saw one of the beasts flinch long enough for the Witch Hunter to bring up his pistol and shoot it over three times in the face. The Witch Hunter gave them a brief nod before going back to assist the other Imperials.

Vanyra had gone to the aid of her companion, to her surprise she found the Kislevite spattered in blood and holding the head of the werewolf that had attacked her in her left hand. She had nodded to Vanyra and said 'Took you long enough'

'I was occupied' replied Vanyra with a shrug. Disengaging from the main fight, Vanyra focused on shooting the werewolves with her crossbow while the Kislevite fired at the werewolf which fought the Witch Hunter, she then pulled out her _shaska_ and a knife from the side of her belt before charging into the melee with a surprising degree of speed. Already many of the Imperials lay dead or dying but so did a number of the remaining werewolves, the two priests seemed to glow with an unnatural light at the corners of the dwarf's eyes.

Already the humans were rallying around the priests, the Witch Hunter and the knight whose armor was now rent open with blood pouring out as he roared the wolf god's name. The humans outnumbered the werewolves now, but their losses had been heavy, only four of the beasts now remained but the humans had now dwindled to nine. The Witch Hunter fired two shots from his pistol which felled a werewolf while the Sigmarite priest charged in and brained one of the beasts with his hammer which was now unmistakably glowing with a golden light.

Another of the humans had his lower jaw torn out as he struck a werewolf on the side with his hammer. As the man fell, Sashura drove her sword deeply into the center of the beast's throat while he knife was plunged into its chest. Twisting the sword and ripping it out from the side of its neck she was showered in blood as she stabbed it again and again in the chest. Already there were only two of the beasts left, another man was killed but with his death, the Ulrican knight and priest flanked one of the beasts and they simultaneously swung their hammers which crushed the werewolf's skull like an over ripe melon.

* * *

The last of the beasts fled and the party of now eight humans and a dwarf gave chase. While the darkness of the night made it difficult for the humans to track it, it was no problem for Vanyra whose race were well suited for seeing the dark. They were led to a burrow, the entrance of which was littered with many chewed up bones, many of the bones were clearly cracked open for marrow. They found many bones ranging from orcs, goblins, beastmen, normal animals, some mutated things and human as well.

Peering into the darkness, the Imperials looked to each other a bit warily, gone was their bravado earlier this night. Grunting with disapproval, Vanyra took the first step forwards, and Sashura was soon with her. The Witch Hunter of whom looked pale with blood loss took a torch from one of the men and he proceeded after them, with torch in his left and a fully loaded pistol in the other he was soon followed by the knight, the priests and the other men who were just as wounded.

The burrow itself was tall enough so the men did not have to stoop and it was wide enough for six men to stand side to side. The stench of rotten flesh and animal dung was heavy, they could only hear the sounds of their footsteps and the clatter of their armor, it was cold here, there was something odd an unnatural here which made the hairs on the backs of their necks stand. Vanyra saw something dart across the floor ahead of them in the dark and she opened fired with her crossbow and was rewarded with a high-pitched shriek of pain.

Going to the thing she had shot, her eyes as well as those of the remaining party widened in surprise when they saw what it was. Laying before them and curled into a fetal position lay the whimpering, filthy and naked body of a young human boy with a crossbow bolt jutting from his belly, the boy was alive and bleeding heavily.

The knight quickly went forward and he knelt over the child 'Sweet Ulric' he muttered. He then wiped away the dirty mop of hair to reveal the boy's young almost girlish face. Vanyra could smell that unnatural sickly sweet stench from the boy's blood, realization hit her on what the child was.

'Don't touch that thing, manling!' the dwarf said to the knight with alarm 'it's one of them!'

'What!?' the knight asked incredulously 'it's just a child!, You just shot a damn child you lunatic!'

'No…' said the Sigmarite priest and all eyes were soon upon him 'it is tainted; I can feel the taint in it'. He then looked to the Ulrican priest who nodded and agreed with Sigmarite

'I can feel it too' said the Ulrican priest 'I feel the touch of Chaos upon it, just as with the others'

'Kill it' Sashura said grimly as she eyed the child warily 'only death to tainted'

The knight looked to the child, then he looked back to the rest of the party. There was something in his expression which made it clear that this was very difficult for him, perhaps the knight had a child that looked like the Vanyra had just shot? The Witch Hunter sighed wearily and he pointed his pistol at it, the knight stepped away and with a simple squeeze of the trigger, the Witch Hunter blew the mortally wounded child's brains out.

The party advanced further into the burrow, they were surprised at how deep it was and the sheer amount of rotted flesh and bone which lay around. At the end of the burrow they found more of the were-things, there was a human woman who was naked and covered in fresh blood, she protectively tried to shield several more children. By Grungni, Vanyra thought, they must have stumbled upon some sort of breeding ground.

The naked woman glared angrily at them, her eyes were white like the other lycanthropes and so were the children she tried to protect. The woman began shouting at them in some foreign tongue which Vanyra thought was Breton. The Witch Hunter spoke back in Breton as well and the two conversed for a minute.

A name passed between the two, Luis or something like that. It seemed that the Witch Hunter knew more of what was going on than the rest of them knew, for the priest and the knight gave the Witch Hunter a curious look. The two continued to speak for a moment before the woman gave their party a hateful look and the children began weeping.

'We must purge this place and all within it' the Witch Hunter said grimly as he raised his pistol forwards

'I will do it manling' Vanyra said. Taking a step to the front of the group she stowed her crossbow and reached for her remaining fire bombs. Flicking the pins with her thumbs, she tossed the two canisters towards the woman and the children, and soon they were engulfed in alchemical fire. They did not die quickly for they screamed and howled in agony as the flames consumed them.

The Witch Hunter, the priest of Sigmar and Sashura gave Vanyra and approving look. The Witch Hunter told them that they will return to bring fire to this corrupted place.

* * *

Mopping the floor of the inn, Hans Fiedler heard the bell at the front door ring. Who could it be out at this ungodly hour? He thought for it was likely an hour or two before dawn. To his surprise, he saw it was the dwarf and the Kislevite, they both looked exhausted and were covered with filth and blood and- sweet Sigmar! The smell of them too he thought. It was as if they rolled around in an abattoir.

To his horror he also noted the monstrous wolf-like heads which dangled from the belts of the two women as it dripped foul blood on the wooden floorboards he had just washed. 'Is… is that what attacked us?' Hans asked with morbid curiosity.

'Aye it was manling' the dwarf wearily said, she gave him a curious look, likely she had noted the mop in his hands and asked 'You work here now?'

'A-aye I do' he stuttered 'Herr Schmidt the Innkeeper needed someone to clean up and watch the place after dark. I took the job and now I get free room and board.'

'Well good for you' said Sashura was clearly not interested 'get us drink please? Been long night'

'Aye coming up then miladies' Hans said

* * *

In the following morning Vanyra and Sashura had brought in the heads of the beasts to the local militia captain. As promised they received a reward of a dozen gold crowns of which was evenly split between the two, the militia captain had been quite surprised to hear what happened and he mentioned having heard the same from the knight and the Witch Hunter. Now walking out of the militia barracks and feeling a glad to get her payment, Vanyra wondered if she should get a job as a monster hunter when her quest was over.

'We make good team da?' Sashura said with a smile, the mood of the two women had greatly improved after a meal, some drinks, rest and a warm bath at the inn.

'Went rather well last night' Vanyra said with a nod, 'Still up for heading to Altdorf?'

'Da' Sashura nodded 'better go with someone to watch back than alone eh?'

'Right' Vanyra said with a grin as the two prepared to leave the town of Schlaussen

* * *

Templar Wagner hissed in pain as one of the gentle sisters at the local Shallyan convent applied a stinging medicinal unguent upon his skin. His thoughts were occupied by what he had learned, that damn Bretonnian warlock had been in this area. Already the bastard had left some of his failed experiments behind.

There were two places the warlock would likely go now; he would need a place where Warpstone could be found in abundance, two places which filled the Witch Hunter with trepidation. He would need to report back to the Witch-Finder General and requisition some state troops and new warriors to join his cause. The dwarf and the kislevite seemed liked the hardy sort, just the kind of people he would need for the days ahead.

Grunting in pain as the gentle sister tightly wrapped bandages around his wounds, she told him that he needed to rest. The Witch Hunter obeyed the priestess and he lay down upon the cot, as much as he hated the idea of resting while the warlock was on the loose, his lord Sigmar would need him to be fit and hale if he was to bring the heretic to justice.

* * *

To be continued in: Shadows of an Empire


End file.
